How to say this generously? Tottenham are a little bit light in the full-back positions. There’s Ben Davies at left-back and Serge Aurier at right-back, and… well, that’s about it – and it seemed for a while that Aurier was being shopped around. Centre-backs Juan Foyth and Japhet Tanganga can both impersonate full-backs, but so what. Basically, Tottenham have just two dedicated full-backs in their first-team squad, which is laughable for the eighth-richest club in Europe but less surprising for a Jose Mourinho side. We all know that Mourinho prefers small squads, with no more than two quality players in each position. But this is taking the piss.
Now I’m no Poirot but I posit that Spurs find themselves in this tight spot because they keep getting rid of their full-backs: Kyle Walker-Peters (to Southampton), Kieran Trippier (Atletico) and Danny Rose (Newcastle) have all departed since 2019, with no replacements incoming. This is basic maths. It’s also as if Spurs are playing some weird game where they can see how few full-backs it’s possible to function with.
Hang on, though. There are rumours that Spurs are getting close to a done deal for Wolves right-back Matt Doherty. He’s a tidy player, 6ft-plus (Mourinho loves tall players), and can fill in at left-back when necessary. But he doesn’t come without downsides: he’s 28 and therefore wouldn’t have much resale value, and it’s debatable how much he would improve the team. But Spurs need bodies. Although knowing Jose, he would buy Doherty and then get rid of Aurier. Oh well, at least Joe Hart is on the books.